AN INTERNATIONAL ART PRIZE FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN UP TO AGE 18

My inspiration for this piece of Sculpture came from researching into the mysteries of ancient artefacts and rituals. The sculpture is a mysterious object that could represent mysteries of the past. I wanted to create an object that seemed to contain a hidden mystery like a closed locket or a closed book. I cast plaster into face masks and rusted them to create an older and weathered feel. The rusting enhanced the lines that I created in the casts by using cling film as a releasing agent. Rusted items immediately make you think of things being weathered and old just like the weathering and natural decay that occurs on old artefacts. I cast shillings into the eyes of one of the heads as a metaphor for death, as shillings were often placed on the eyes of the dead for the boat men to give safe passage in olden times to people who had died. I also cast horse shoes into the backs of each head as a symbol or superstition of being lucky or not depending on which way the horse show faces. I have hinged the sculpture so you can close the heads shut to hide the horseshoes.